Unit One Essential Question : Is personal integrity more important than survival?

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Our first unit will require us to think about personal integrity, values, and principles. We will study The Crucible through the lens of the essential question above : Is personal integrity more important than survival? We will also explore other texts that offer varying perspectives on this question. As a culmination of this unit, you will answer the question yourself creating an informed opinion based on the pieces we explore.

Click on the links below to access readings and assignments for this unit.


READINGS :  For class on Friday 9/23, read the article below and be ready to discuss when you come to class.


HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT 9/21/11 : Below are the two poems you will read in class on Wednesday. Tonight - take some time to review the poems and answer the breakdown questions below. Be ready to answer questions and lead discussion on poems.






SEMINAR PREPARATION : Brandon, Daniel, and Taylor will be leading us in our Seminar on Wednesday 9/21 in which we will look to tie together the different sources you studied last week. Prepare for that seminar by completing the questions on the handout provided in class on Monday and attached below.





READING : For class Thursday 9/1, read the New York Times article below entitled "Philosophy as an Art of Dying". Consider in your reading what persepctive the article offers on our essential question.

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/12/philosophy-as-an-art-of-dying/

ASSIGNMENT : For class Friday 9/2, summarize the article above in a paragraph shared in Google Docs. Consider in your summary the author's thesis and point of view. In the same document - list 5 words that were unfamiliar to you from the article and briefly define them.



CLOSE READING INSTRUCTION : To review the details of your close reading assignment, click here.



For our Jigsaw activity today in class - explore the following links for discussion...

Salem Witch Trials


Explore real documents from the Salem Witch Trials

McCarthyism


Arthur Miller on why he wrote The Crucible

Arthur Miller interviewed on The Crucible



What is your personal philosophy?

Have you ever been asked to define your personal philosophy before? It can be an illuminating exercise to state your beliefs and articulate why you feel this way. Our personal philosophies are shaped by many factors: life experiences, religious or political beliefs, moral values held, prior educational experiences, and many other things.

As a starting place, please take this online quiz that will give you a very preliminary sense of how you might define your personal philosophy. There are 36 questions total. Once you are finished (IMPORTANT!) PLEASE copy and paste your results into a document so that you have them to share with the class.

Link to personal philosophy quiz:
http://quizfarm.com/quizzes/new/arocoun/what-philosophy-do-you-follow-v103/

Please don't forget to copy ALL of your results and save for later!

Need to research your terms?
Try this:
http://www.ismbook.com/